Un petit air asiatique – Crêpes à la noix de coco farcies aux crevettes, champignons noirs et épinards

What I love most about those crêpes is the color, and no it’s not a corn pancake, the deep yellow color comes from turmeric. I ate something similar at a friend’s house from Cambodia a long time ago, except that pork and crab were replacing the shrimps. I also wanted to use the rice flour and wood ear mushrooms I had bought and that I never use. So I decided to give it a try…crêpes with an Asian twist. I think those crêpe have more than an Asian twist.

The crêpe batter tends to be on the soft side, so you need to cook each side really well, until almost crunchy. I used a combination of brown rice and Khorasan wheat flours which even though does contain gluten, is easier to digest than regular flour and has a higher protein content.

You can find fresh wood ear mushrooms at the Asian market, I used the dry kind. I would have used shitakee if I had some, but the wood ear mushrooms were perfectly fine, beside, since I cook with shiitake a lot, I figured those mushrooms would be a little more original. They’re firm with a thick skin and interesting texture resembling jelly. Their texture has a crunchy bite which I find very pleasant.

For the stuffing, you can certainly use what you like, the crepes have a subtle coconut flavor, so ground meat would also work.

Ingredients for about 5-6 small crêpes

For the batter

  • 2.82 oz (or 80 g) brown rice flour
  • 1.41 oz (or 40 g) khorasan wheat flour
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 3/4 cup water
  • salt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric

For the filling

  • 1.5 cup wood ear mushrooms, soaked and finely cut
  • 24 medium sized shrimps, peeled and deveined
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbs fish sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 cup cooked spinach
  • 2 scallions, chopped

Preparation

For the batter

Mix flours together, then add egg, water, coconut milk, turmeric and salt. Mix well to obtain a smooth batter. If too thick add a little water. Let it rest for about 30 min.

For the filling

Soak mushrooms in hot water until they become soft, about 30-45 minutes. Cut in small strips. Set aside.

Marinate mushrooms strips with shrimps, fish sauce, sugar, garlic for about one hour.

Saute spinach in 1 garlic clove chopped and olive oil.

Heat olive oil in a wok, add mushrooms and shrimp mixture and saute until shrimps are cooked and liquid has evaporated.

Start making crêpes. Using a small pan of about 12 cm diameter, add some batter and proceed as you would make regular crêpes, spreading the batter all over the pan. Let it cook until one side of the crêpe, has become golden brown and crunchy. Add some of the filling on one half of the crêpe, add spinach and scallions. Fold the other half on top and let it cook for a few more minutes.

Remove from the pan and serve with mint and lettuce leaves.